


For Whom The Bell Tolls

by elaine



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: First Times, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-04
Updated: 2006-07-04
Packaged: 2017-12-11 10:22:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/797329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elaine/pseuds/elaine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jim makes a bet and gets more than he bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For Whom The Bell Tolls

**Author's Note:**

  * For [quyllur](https://archiveofourown.org/users/quyllur/gifts).



Jim looked up as Blair Sandburg entered the bullpen with his usual energy, smiling greetings to everyone who caught his eye. When Blair reached Jim's desk, he smiled rather perfunctorily. "I thought you were going to be too busy to come in today."

"Yeah, I was, but Prof Weisner asked me to take a Mayan jade pendant in to be assessed by our insurer." Blair grinned. "And since nobody locked me in an elevator with a bomb I thought I'd come over and have lunch with you."

Jim ignored the unwelcome reminder of Galileo's homicidal plan and shook his head reluctantly. "Not today, Sandburg. Linda's meeting me for lunch."

"Yeah?" A speculative gleam brightened Blair's eyes. "You two have really hit it off - I've hardly seen you the last couple of weeks."

He couldn't help returning the grin. Ever since Sandburg had introduced the two of them, they'd been getting closer all the time. "I've gotta admit, Chief, I _really_ like her."

"That's great, Jim." Blair chuckled. "Maybe I should start looking for a place to live, huh?"

"Uh..." Caught unprepared, Jim felt his face go blank. The truth was, he'd been thinking about asking Linda if she would move in with him. It just hadn't occurred to him that the natural corollary was that Blair would move out.

Blair, as always, was uncomfortably quick to sense his unease. His grin faded, to be replaced by another, completely fake one. "Wow. That _is_ serious. I'll start looking straight away. This is great news, man. I really hope it works out for you."

"Hold on there, Chief." Jim caught Blair's arm as he started to turn away. "You're getting a bit ahead of things, okay? You just surprised me, that's all." He ran a hand over his hair and took a deep breath. "The truth is, I've been thinking about it, but I haven't said anything to Linda yet. When I do, you'll be the first to know."

"Sure, Jim." To anyone who didn't know Blair as well as Jim did, he would have seem entirely relaxed about the whole situation. But Jim could hear his heart racing and smell the sharp scent of his distress.

He was thinking maybe he should invite Blair to join him and Linda for lunch after all when his phone rang. He snatched up the phone, glad of an excuse to end the conversation. It turned out to be Dan Wolfe calling him about an autopsy he was awaiting the results of.

"I've gotta go downstairs. You want to come?"

Blair accepted with an alacrity that belied his usual nauseated reaction to viewing the corpses in the morgue. This time, however, their visit didn't require them to view the actual corpse and in ten minutes they were on their way back to Major Crime. They walked in to see Brown, Rafe and Connor giving Linda the third degree.

The three of them had been bugging him for details ever since Sandburg let slip that Jim was dating. They'd even started a pool on how long it would last before Linda was proven to be either a jewel thief or a homicidal maniac. Of _course_ they were going to milk this opportunity for all it was worth.

"...alternative therapies like hypnosis, dream interpretation, intuitive training, primal therapy. They all have benefits... oh, hi, Jim." Linda smiled. "Your colleagues were wondering what I'm researching for my PhD."

"You got any research involving chimps? There's a few here I could lend you." He reached her side and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. "Haven't you guys got any work to do?"

"Of course not, Jimbo." Connor smiled limpidly. "We all know you're the only one around here who does any work."

Brown chuckled genially "Say, Linda, have you tried hypnotising Jim lately? Maybe you could make him less grouchy. You know, more like me."

Before Linda could respond, Jim laughed scornfully. "Linda knows better than to use that mumbo jumbo on me."

Blair hurriedly broke into the silence that fell. "Oh, come on, Jim. Hypnotism isn't so different from the uh... the relaxation techniques I showed you." His face and hands signalled furiously for Jim to backpedal.

"Relaxation techniques are one thing, Chief. Making somebody cluck like a chicken is a whole different ball game." He shrugged dismissively. "It's nothing but a con perpetuated on the weak-minded. It wouldn't work on _me_."

He saw Blair cast an apologetic look at Linda, but she simply smiled. "So you don't think I could hypnotise you and plant a suggestion, Jim?"

"Not in a million years." He grinned challengingly and saw the challenge reflected back in Linda's eyes.

"Man, I would _pay_ to see Ellison cluck like a chicken." Brown chuckled. "How about it, Linda?"

She looked from Brown to Jim and back again. "Twenty dollars?"

"And if you fail? Which you will." Jim tilted his chin slightly. No way was he going to let this pass. "What do I get out of it?"

Linda smiled enigmatically. "The pleasure of knowing you're right? Okay, how about a meal at a restaurant of your choice? My treat. And you pay for me if I win."

Jim grinned. "It's a bet. Do your worst." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Uh, Jim..." Blair leaned closer, "do you think that's a good idea?"

"Sure." He shrugged. "Nothing's gonna happen."

Blair shook his head and sighed.

It didn't take long to establish the rules, and then Linda was standing in front of Jim, smiling confidently. "Just follow the tip of my finger with your eyes and relax, Jim."

He did as instructed, watching her finger move slowly back and forth and absently listening to the quiet timbre of her voice. It was a tempting thought to let himself zone on the sound, but that wouldn't be fair. After a while, he thought that maybe he _had_ started to zone. He pulled himself back from the verge and opened his eyes again.

"See? Nothing happened." He looked around their faces but they all had their poker faces on. "I told you."

Connor had her cell in her hand, head bent over the display. The others simply waited expectantly.

His phone rang, and once again, it felt like he was starting to zone out. He came out of it quickly, and turned to answer the phone, but it had stopped ringing. When he turned back everyone was staring at him. Even Blair looked pretty shaken.

Jim frowned. He was absolutely certain that nothing had happened; maybe they were all trying to fool him into thinking that Linda had somehow hypnotised him. If so, it wasn't going to fly. "Well, if we're finished here, I have a lunch date." He smiled at Linda. "And you're paying."

Linda blinked, and smiled rather strangely. "Sorry, Jim. I just remembered I've got some research materials to return to the lab. I'll have to give you a rain check on that one." She picked up her leather briefcase from beside his desk. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Uh, Linda?" Blair followed her to the door. "Don't you think you should... uh, you know..."

She stopped, smiled at him then looked over to where Jim was standing. The smile hardened. "There's nothing to do, Blair. Jim's right, I couldn't make him do anything he didn't want."

The door closed behind her leaving Blair seeming to be completely at a loss. He shrugged and came back to Jim's side, looking uncomfortable.

"Who would have thought she'd be such a sore loser?" Jim patted Blair on the shoulder. It looked like he was going to be doing some serious apologising in the near future. "So, I guess it's just the two of us for lunch. Where do you want to go?"

"Um..." Blair looked up at him and then around the assembled detectives, who were still standing around looking dazed. "Uh, Jim... we need to..."

He heard his phone ring again and felt that same weird drifting sensation. This time, when he pulled himself back Brown and Rafe were sniggering, Connor had both her hands over her mouth and Blair was looking shell-shocked.

Jim's temper snapped suddenly. "Okay, what the hell is going on?"

Brown collapsed into the nearest chair howling with laughter, Connor giggled hysterically, tears running down her cheeks and Rafe had turned beet red. Blair was talking a mile a minute, but completely incoherent.

"Is there some reason why..." Simon's bellow died mid-sentence as he took in the scene from his doorway. "What's going on?"

His demand was no more successful than Jim's had been. There was plenty of talking but even Jim's sentinel abilities couldn't help him to make sense of what everyone was saying. Even so, Simon demonstrated why he had become one of the Cascade PD's most promising captains as he managed to garner enough information to single out the most likely suspect. "Sandburg, my office. Now!"

Blair cast a pitiful look in Jim's direction and went. When Jim tried to follow, he was blocked by Simon's raised hand. "Not you, Jim. Oh, and Jim?" He tugged his earlobe significantly and scowled.

Such an instruction from his captain would normally be sacrosanct, but this time... Jim listened as Simon closed the door. "Sandburg! What the..." and then winced as Simon's radio blared painfully loud.

He could watch through the glass windows, though not read their lips, since they were standing side on. The gesticulating arms worried him, but not as much as the sight of Blair standing, shoulders slumped and head hanging, as Simon ripped him a new one. Eventually the pacing and yelling stopped. Blair nodded and turned towards the door.

Jim stopped Blair as he passed on his way to the elevator. "Chief, what the fuck is happening?"

Blair shook his head. "I can't, Jim. I've gotta go."

"Sandburg?" Simon stood in the doorway of his office. "Today would be nice. And Jim, you're on desk duty until I tell you otherwise. The rest of you... keep an eye on him and _don't_ let him leave this room."

The others had all scattered to their desks, and were doing their best to look like they were working. Jim sighed, knowing he'd made a fool of himself somehow, but it was obvious nobody was going to tell him what he'd done. At least, not until he'd taken Sandburg home and grilled him lightly over a hot flame.

He settled at his desk and tried to concentrate on his work. There were more than enough files that needed his attention to keep him busy, but his mind kept wandering. His phone rang and then next thing he knew, he was trying to push past Rafe, Brown, and Taggart to get out into the hallway.

From behind him Simon barked "Ellison, where do you think you're going?"

He stopped trying to get out and turned. "I was just... uh..." he frowned, trying to remember exactly _why_ he'd needed Sandburg so urgently, but failing. "I, uh... needed something, but it doesn't matter."

Simon rolled his eyes. "Take your phone off the hook and leave it off." He disappeared back into his office muttering audibly, "Do I have to think of _everything_?"

Everybody was avoiding his eyes now. Jim returned to his desk and stared blankly down at the file he'd been pretending to read. He wasn't sure any more that he could wait until this evening to find out what was going on. He picked up a file and wandered casually over to Connor's desk.

"Connor." She flinched and raised her eyes reluctantly. "Tell me what's going on. What did Linda make me do?"

"Honestly, Jim, I think you should talk to Sandy about that." Her eyes darted from one desk to the next, seeking help, but all the Major Crime detectives were studiously avoiding looking at either of them. "It's... it's... delicate."

Worse and worse. Defeated, Jim returned to his desk.

A couple of hours passed in relative peace, until Blair returned with Linda in tow. This time, nobody came over to greet her as Blair ushered her into Simon's office. Jim didn't try to listen; he wasn't sure he _wanted_ to know any more.

After a couple of minutes, Linda came out again with Simon and Blair following. Jim stood up and came around his desk to meet them. Everything felt awkward and tense. Linda and Blair weren't looking at each other or him; only Simon seemed his usual irritable self.

"Jim, I'm sorry. I need to cancel out the post hypnotic suggestion I made." She smiled, but it was forced. "Just follow the tip of my finger."

It didn't take long. Jim felt the faint dislocation of time, just as he had before, and then he opened his eyes again. He reached behind him and put his phone back on the hook. "Chief? You want to call my phone?"

He heard the phone ring with nothing more than a vague sense of disappointment. Whatever Linda had done, it was undone now.

* * *

Blair had disappeared the instant it was confirmed that Jim was okay. Somehow, Jim managed to make it through the interminable afternoon, but it was a relief to come home and find that Blair was already there. Jim shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the hook beside the door, then went over to the couch and dropped down beside Blair.

He smiled at Jim, but it was obviously false and that was unexpectedly painful. Jim sighed. "Blair, whatever it was that I did..."

"Look, Jim, it's okay." The look on Blair's face, hunted and miserable, contradicted his words. "It was just a joke that got out of hand. Has anyone..."

"Nobody will tell me what I did." Jim turned to him and grabbed his shoulders. "Blair, I have to know. It had something to do with you, didn't it?"

Blair nodded with obvious reluctance. "You kissed me."

It didn't seem like a kiss should be that big a deal. He'd dropped a playful peck on Blair's temple a couple of times and Blair hadn't minded. Somehow, he suspected, this wasn't likely to be in the same league. Jim forced a chuckle. "Did I slip you the tongue?"

Blair's cheeks flamed. Jim groaned and dropped his head in his hands. "I'm sorry, Chief. Honestly. I had no idea what I was doing."

"I know that, Jim. It's okay, I promise." Blair smiled bravely. "It's just... it was a bit weird. And creepy. I mean... you know, creepy because I knew you'd never had done it except for..."

"Linda." Jim cursed. "That bitch. She had no right to... well, I guess that relationship's over. I wish I'd never met her." He remembered, belatedly, that Blair had introduced them. "I mean... I'm not blaming you okay? It's just..."

"Look, why don't we just agree to put this behind us and not talk about it? Or Linda." Blair looked at him hopefully. "I mean, really, it wasn't anything _that_ terrible."

Perhaps he should have realised that when _Blair_ didn't want to talk the situation to death, it was a sign that there was something very wrong. At the time, however, he was more than willing to let the whole thing drop.

* * *

A couple of days passed, with an uneasy silence reigning in the bullpen. Blair stayed away, and under the circumstances, Jim figured that was a good thing, even though he missed his friend's company.

At home, it was even more strained. Where once they had inhabited the same space with easy companionship, now the silences - and there were lots of silences - were full of sharp edges. The unthinking invasion of personal space that had become second nature to them had stopped. They were awkward and uncomfortable with each other, and once when Jim patted Blair's face jokingly, Blair flinched, unable to repress the instinct although Jim saw that he was trying.

He'd promised Blair he'd let sleeping dogs lie and there was nobody else he was willing to open up that much to, not even Simon. Blair was the _only_ person he trusted enough to talk to about it and Blair was the one person he _couldn't_ talk to.

The end of the week came, and Jim was looking forward with dread to the prospect of two days with no work to distract the two of them. He spent Friday morning grouching and sniping at anyone who came close enough until Simon ordered him into his office and ordered him to 'get this thing sorted out before I put your ass on traffic duty'.

He drove to Rainier, parked the truck about a block away and walked to Hargrove Hall. As he walked down the hallway to Blair's office, he heard first Blair's voice, then Linda's. Paranoia reared its head - why was Blair even talking to her? Had the whole thing been some kind of set up? But Blair had been genuinely upset by what had happened. Still was.

Jim stopped and leaned against the wall, listening, but all he heard was some kind of anthro - or maybe psych - babble and he realised they were discussing Linda's research. Their voices were strained - they definitely weren't enjoying each other's company. Jim relaxed a little, waiting for Linda to leave because nothing on earth would induce him to be in the same small room with the two of them.

He wasn't prepared for the surge of anger that flooded him as she closed Blair's office door behind her. She was just the kind of woman he always liked - tall, auburn-haired, intelligent and strong - and she looked no different now, as though the events of three days ago hadn't touched her at all. Yet his and Blair's friendship lay in ruins around them and he didn't have the slightest idea how to set it right.

She hesitated when she saw him, then came on, walking steadily enough, though her face was shadowed. Jim stepped out in front of her, blocking the way.

"You've got some nerve, lady. You had no right to do what you did." He saw her eyelids flicker slightly, and her lips set into an angry line. "You stepped over the line."

She sighed, the fight he'd seen a moment before draining out of her. "Look, Jim... I'm sorry, really I am."

" _You're_ sorry?" He kept his voice low and one eye on Blair's door. "What the _hell_ were you thinking?"

"I know I was out of line, Jim, but I didn't mean any harm. I just..." She shook her head helplessly and looked away from him. "I just wanted to know where I stood with you. You're not exactly the easiest man to read, you know. I never intended..."

He glared at her, any sympathy he might have felt completely vanished. "How did making me kiss Sandburg tell you anything? He's your friend and you humiliated him. You humiliated both of us. Do you have any idea..."

She interrupted him, her face shifting rapidly to anger. "I didn't _make_ you kiss Blair. That was all your own work, Jim. You need to face up to that. Okay?"

"What the _fuck_ are you talking about?" Jim caught hold of her wrist, his grip punishingly tight. "You _hypnotised_ me. You told me to kiss him when my phone rang."

"Is that what Blair told you?" She glanced back over her shoulder towards Blair's office.

Fuck. In a moment of pure clarity, Jim realised that Blair hadn't actually told him anything of the kind. He'd admitted that Jim had kissed him and left him to believe that Linda had prompted him to do it. He released Linda's wrist and rubbed his forehead. Another patented Sandburg obfuscation, and he'd fallen for it hook, line and sinker.

"What, exactly, did you tell me to do?"

"I..." She hesitated and blushed, "I wanted to know if you felt the same way I did... whether there was a future for us." She rubbed her wrist absently, her eyes meeting Jim's with a pleading look. "I told you to kiss the person you wanted to spend the rest of your life with."

He made a choked sound and she sighed. "I know... it was a _stupid_ thing to do. Even if you were serious it didn't necessarily mean you wanted... but, believe me, I _never_ expected what happened. You and Blair weren't the only ones who were humiliated."

* * *

By the time Blair arrived home, Jim's preparations were well under way. The pasta sauce - Blair's favourite - was simmering nicely, the pot of water for the pasta was ready, the wine was open, the table was laid with the best silverware and the candles were lit. His favourite Aretha Franklin CD was on, the volume turned down low. Perfect.

He heard Blair coming up the stairs but waited until he'd reached the door before opening it and ushering a startled looking Blair inside.

"Oh, hey... are you expecting someone?" Blair forced a smile. "Just give me a couple of minutes to drop off my notes and laptop and I'll be out of here."

"I'm not expecting anyone, Sandburg." Jim caught hold of his arm, ignoring the flinch that Blair couldn't quite repress. "This is for you... us."

Blair's eyes widened as he surveyed the table. "But... Jim, what's going on?"

"I talked to Linda today," Jim admitted. "She told me what really happened."

Blair paled. "Oh, god... look, Jim..."

"...and I started wondering why the whole thing upset you so much, because you're the last person I'd have expected to get bent out of shape over a kiss." He watched Blair's expressive face, more and more convinced that his deductions had been correct. "I mean, it was all supposed to be in fun, no harm, no foul. And none of it was _your_ fault. But there you were, acting like it was the end of the world."

He shrugged casually; although there was nothing casual in the way he was feeling right now. "And I started to wonder if maybe you weren't feeling bad because of the kiss, but because you were afraid of how _I'd_ feel if I found out what Linda had really told me to do.

"I'm not upset, Blair. Linda told me you can't use hypnosis to force someone to do something they don't want to do." He raised his hand to Blair's cheek, brushing his thumb over the smooth skin of his cheekbone. "When she told me, all I felt was how _right_ it was for us to be together. All I want to know is whether you feel the same way. I think you do."

Jim leaned in to brush a kiss across Blair's temple, something he'd done before, though never like this. Blair almost jumped out of his skin.

"No. No way, Jim." Blair made the mistake of turning his face up and Jim took full advantage of it.

His lips were gentle, insistent, patiently requesting entry until Blair's lips trembled beneath them and parted reluctantly. Jim deepened the kiss, slowly pressing and retreating, teasing. He sucked delicately at Blair's bottom lip for a moment, then brushed his tongue across its fullness. A soft, breathy moan gusted air laden with Blair's flavour into his mouth and he followed it back to its source, sliding his tongue against Blair's.

Heat flooded through him, and suddenly he wanted more. Not more as in sex, just... just _more_. More of Blair's taste, more of the feel of him against his lips, more of the sounds he made. More of Blair. His fingers slid into the springy, silky curls and held Blair fast while he slowly, lovingly fucked Blair's mouth.

When it ended, when Blair dragged himself away, backing up with his hands held out to ward Jim away, he simply stood there, dazed and needing.

"I can't do this, Jim. I just can't." Blair looked around wildly, as though for some kind of escape route, though the door was just behind him. "You can't just go from being straight to gay in a couple of hours."

Jim chuckled softly. "All I know is that when Linda told me the truth... it just felt so right. All I wanted to do was to come home and get ready. For you. For us."

"Yeah, _now_ you say that." Blair backed up another couple of steps until he hit the door. "Wait until you freak out. Fuck, why _aren't_ you freaking out?"

"Maybe because you're freaking out enough for both of us?" He swept his hand around towards the immaculately set up table. "Does this _look_ like I'm freaking out?"

"But you _can't_..." Blair shook his head, practically hyperventilating.

Maybe he'd misread the situation. Jim swallowed nervously. "Blair... have you ever... you know... _done_ anything with a guy?"

After a long pause, Blair shrugged. "I've been curious a time or three. Nothing very adventurous." Blair studied Jim's face, his eyes still a little wild. "Have you? Ever been... curious?"

"I'm curious now." Jim advanced on Blair, cupped his face between his hands and kissed him again. Immediately it was like before - and somehow familiar - sweet and hot and slow and... and Blair was pulling away again, gasping. "What's wrong?"

"Man, oh man..." Blair shook his head dazedly. "This is just... it's too intense. I can't deal with this."

Jim could feel Blair's heartbeat, hammering against his ribs. He stepped back, reluctantly. "Okay. How about you go clean up while I get the pasta cooking? We can talk over dinner."

* * *

The calming properties of pasta and a good red wine worked their magic and Blair gradually relaxed a bit over dinner. They talked quietly about day-to-day stuff and when the meal ended, Jim left the table uncleared - though not without an internal struggle - and carried both wine glasses over to the couch.

As he'd hoped, Blair followed, perching nervously on the far end. Jim handed him his glass and smiled encouragingly. "Why don't you tell me what's _really_ bothering you."

Blair stared at him for several seconds, then sighed. "What happens when you decide you've had enough?"

He smiled. "The rest of my life, remember? I'm not going to change my mind."

"Jim, you can't just... just change your sexual orientation because you kissed me while you were hypnotised." Blair's hands described a complicated shape in the air between them. "It doesn't work that way."

"It works for me." Jim shrugged, his smile widening. It seemed like the calmer he was, the more freaked out Blair got. "Chief, I love you. You know that, right?"

Blair nodded. "But..."

"No buts." He put his wine glass on the coffee table, then took Blair's and put it next to his. Then he scooted a little closer and took Blair's hand. "I love you, I'd just never thought of... well..."

"Sleeping with me?" Blair asked patiently. "Jim, there's a reason for that. It's called heterosexuality."

"If I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you, then I'd better get over it." Jim tugged gently on Blair's hand, drawing him a little closer. "And I _want_ to get over it, Chief. I just need a little assistance here." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to the angle of Blair's jaw. "So, how about it? I don't mind if you want to take things slow."

"Take things _slow_? Jesus, Jim. Will you listen to yourself?" Blair's eyes flashed, but in the face of Jim's unruffled calm, he sighed and shrugged, slumping back against the couch in defeat. "Okay. We're gonna take things slow. And I'm talking _glacial_ here, Jim. You got that?"

Jim grinned, took Blair's face between his hands and shut him up the way he was already beginning to think of as his favourite method _ever_.

* * *

Half an hour later, his lips swollen and tender, Jim drew back and gazed down in satisfaction at Blair. Whose glazed eyes and slackened mouth seemed to indicate that he was satisfied with progress so far. Jim certainly was. It was amazing how much better kissing Blair was when Blair was actively co-operating. He smiled and traced the outline of Blair's bottom lip with his fingertip.

Blair blinked. "Uh... Jim? Are you... do you _always_ kiss like that?"

"It's more..." Jim swallowed, thinking about it, because with Blair it was so different that he felt like he'd never kissed anyone before. "More... um... no. Not always." He shrugged helplessly. "Never. Not like that."

Luckily, Blair seemed to understand him. "Guess I'd better get used to it." He hooked an arm around Jim's neck and drew him back down.

When they separated again, it was getting late. Blair's eyelids were drooping and he looked deliciously dishevelled even though they'd done no more than kiss. And, okay, leave a few discreetly placed hickeys. Jim's cock stirred uneasily, protesting, no doubt, the lack of direct action, but Jim had no intention of jeopardising the foothold he'd established in Blair's defences.

He murmured in Blair's ear "how about we call it a night?"

"Uh... yeah, okay. I'm pretty beat." Gratifyingly, Blair seemed disappointed. "Yeah, I guess I should catch some sleep."

"Don't want to wear out my welcome," Jim observed. He sat up and moved away enough so Blair had room to do the same. "And we agreed to take it slow."

"That's right. Slow." For once, Blair wasn't talking a mile a minute. He levered himself upright and leaned forward, elbows on knees, head in hands. "Good idea."

"Of course, if you want to come upstairs..." Jim repressed a grin as one tired blue eye peeked through the curtain of hair. "...just to sleep."

'Jim, are you..." Blair straightened, looking him in the eye. "Just to sleep. Right?"

"Absolutely."

Blair nodded. "Okay. Just to sleep."

* * *

They separated long enough to shower. Jim let Blair go first, and spent the ten minutes clearing the table of dishes and stacking them. His own shower took considerably less time, and he headed upstairs in his boxers and bathrobe wondering what he was going to find.

He certainly hadn't expected to see Blair sitting bolt upright in bed, the comforter pulled up to the middle of his chest, looking like a nervous virgin on her wedding night. Jim smiled blandly, took off his bathrobe and hung it on a hook, then went over to the empty side of the bed and slid under the covers.

"So, you planning on sleeping any time soon, Chief?" Jim rolled onto his side facing Blair, looking up into his face. "Lie down. I'm not going to ravish you."

"Sorry." Blair slid down, lying on his back rather stiffly.

He looked good, the wide shoulders covered with downy hair revealed by the grey tank he often wore to bed. It wasn't anything Jim hadn't seen before, but he was developing an entirely new appreciation for the sight. He stroked lightly down Blair's bicep and felt him shiver.

"This okay?" He did it again, fingers sliding down, then up again.

"Yeah. It's great." Blair moistened his lower lip with a nervous flicker of tongue. Jim leaned in and kissed him again, this time reaching across his body to stroke Blair's other arm. "That too."

"Good." He laid his palm against the warm muscle, making tiny caressing movements while his tongue explored Blair's mouth. "You feel so good, Blair."

"Mm." Blair followed when he drew back, sliding both hands around behind Jim's neck, one hand sliding upwards, ruffling the short hairs. Jim shivered helplessly. "We could do more than just kiss."

"Yeah?" He pulled back, waited for Blair's decisive nod before he moved his hand up to Blair's shoulder. He lifted the thin cloth aside and placed a soft, warm kiss on the sensitive skin. "Like this?" Moved a little lower, where the hairs were slightly coarser. "And this?"

Blair wriggled free of him, his cheeks flushed and eyes bright. With a little contortionism, he pulled the tank up over his head and tossed it to the floor. The comforter didn't quite cover his nipples.

"Oh..." Jim's breath came out in a long sigh, and he reached out to touch the centre of Blair's chest. Those dark curls felt just as luxurious against his fingertips as he'd thought they would. It was strange to realise that he'd always had this sensory awareness of Blair's body - how it would feel, taste, smell - and yet it had never felt sexual until now. He knew he was close to zoning on the feel of those hairs rubbing against skin - his own, Blair's - and pulled himself out of it.

Blair's face was deeply flushed now, his pupils dilated and almost obliterating his irises. "Were you zoning on me?"

"Close," Jim admitted. He smiled shyly. "You like that?"

"Hell, yeah." Blair grinned. He pushed up on his elbows, so his chest touched Jim's when they breathed. "Just don't go all the way. Okay, Jim?"

"Okay."

He sank down over Blair, hands stroking down his sides, kissing and kissing as though he'd been starved of the taste of Blair's mouth. And, god, touching Blair was the same kind of sensory feast that kissing him had been. The feel of muscle and bone, the smoothness of skin and silky roughness of hair, the tight crinkle of a nipple and the slickness of sweat. And, on an almost subliminal level, came the swoosh of blood through Blair's veins, the rising scent of his arousal.

" _Jesus, Jim_... oh yeah, do that again..." Blair's voice, rough and shaking. "Oh, _fuck_!"

Jim lifted his head, dazedly, then returned to nuzzle and suck at the hard little peak of flesh. Blair's breathing was ragged, harsh. His hands clutched desperately at Jim's shoulders. Jim held him gently, hands bracketing his ribs, and he pushed against Jim's mouth, needy and demanding.

They'd agreed to go slow, but that pact was shattered now, a dim memory. Jim slid his hand down the thick, promissory trail and under the waistband of Blair's shorts. He found his goal easily, solid and hot, alive with the pounding of Blair's pulse and slick with juices. Blair cried out brokenly and arched up into his hand, the thick shaft sliding easily against his fingers. There was no need for anything more - no time, either. Once, twice, three times, then Blair went rigid, his cock spasming, hot juices gushing against Jim's wrist and arm. And then falling, collapsing utterly spent.

Blair watched through slitted eyes as Jim stripped off his boxers and used them to clean the mess from his stomach. They soon joined his tank on the floor. The covers were... somewhere. Nowhere that interfered with his view of Blair's naked body, and that was all that mattered. Jim brushed his fingertips along the turgid length of his cock, and felt it stir lazily. Inside his boxers, his own cock leapt in impatient reminder of its unsatisfied state, but Jim ignored it.

"Take them off." Blair's voice, almost a whisper, sent a shiver of pure delight through him. "Take them off, Jim."

He hurried to obey and tossed the shorts over the edge of the bed, unselfconscious, as he'd always been about his nakedness, and yet thrilled by the warm pleasure in Blair's eyes. Then Blair was pushing him onto his back, swarming over him, rubbing against him - hairy chest and slick belly and still mostly hard cock.

Jim responded helplessly, pushing back, grabbing Blair's ass cheeks - perfect size for his hands - and grinding against him with sudden, desperate need. His cockhead dragged across a tangle of short, wiry curls and the sensation was brutally intense. He yelled, his vision greying, feeling like his body was trying to turn itself inside out. A hand - oh god, _Blair's_ hand - grasped his cock and stripped him of all thought until only sensation was left.

"Just to sleep, huh?" Blair's voice, accusing, amused, was the first thing Jim became aware of. Then the shape of Blair's hand, fingers splayed against his chest. And that felt good enough that for a while, Jim wasn't interested in anything else. Eventually, though, he forced his eyes to open. Blair was watching him with a vaguely proprietary air.

"It wasn't me who started the strip show," Jim reminded him. "Not that I'm complaining."

Blair grinned, kissed him thoroughly and settled against his shoulder. The comforter was covering them both and it was... cosy. "Hey, I'm not complaining either, man. Just observing. So..." and Jim heard him swallow, "are you still feeling curious?"

He patted the curly head vaguely, still too relaxed to feel like moving much. "Sandburg, I swear, I'm more curious than a room full of cats." Blair's only response was to snort quietly. He yawned. "Great. Does that mean we can sleep now?"

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to my good friend quyllur for giving me the idea for this story.


End file.
